Former UFC champion wants to hang up his gloves to enlist in the army

B. Henderson (photo) was WEC and UFC champion. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

About to debut in Bellator, and already competing for the welterweight title at the event promoted by Scott Coker, the former UFC champion Ben henderson he may also be close to ending his professional MMA career and the most surprising thing is why. In an interview, Bendo assured that he plans to retire by the end of next year and enlist in the United States army.

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“The real reason (for wanting to stop), to be frank with you, is that I will end up joining the military ranks. I have always carried with me a strong sense of civic duty. We as Americans have to have better service time. I said I would stop at 33, but I didn't say how many months. I could be 33 years and eleven months old, for example,” Henderson, who turns 33 next November, said on “The MMA Hour” podcast.

“Kids all the time say 'Oh, I was going to join the Marines, I was going to join the Army, or this and that. Everyone at 22 says that. It's something I always feel. When I'm older, around 50, I want to be able to tell my children, I want to tell my grandchildren that they have a civic duty to their country. To serve, to give back a little. What did you do for your country except eat and use electricity? What have you done for your country? This was something that I felt very intensely and I discovered that there are other ways to do it and that's what I'm doing, but I can't while I have a career in MMA”, he guaranteed.

Ben Henderson will be in the main fight of Bellator 153, next Friday (22), against Andrei Koreshkov, in a fight valid for the welterweight category belt (up to 77 kg). The American, former WEC and UFC champion, has a professional record of 23 wins and just five losses.